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ck Laird-Clowes was always destined to leave his artistic mark. Born in 1957, he grew up in London’s edgy, hip Notting Hill and was just seven when he first saw The Beatles. Only a few years later, the precocious youngster sent a letter to John Lennon and received a reply addressed to “Nick Laird who heard”. In fact, if ever anyone could claim to have enjoyed a life like Forrest Gump’s, it would be this singer, songwriter and musician, who cultivated a habit of being in the right place at just the right moment.
Things, nonetheless, took their time. He was already 28 and on his third record deal when at last he enjoyed success with The Dream Academy and 1985’s unforgettably nostalgic
Life In A Northern Town.
Even this hardly happened in a hurry. His dreamiest of songs needed five weeks to peak at No.15, and another year to climb to No.7 in the United States. Still, few tunes have ultimately cemented their place in history with such distinctive panache. The self-titled album that followed may not have made the same impact, but Laird-Clowes’ and his band’s legacy was secure.
Laird-Clowes dates his moment of destiny to 1970, when, against his parents’ will, he and his sister travelled to the Isle Of Wight Festival, arriving in time to see The Doors. “It was only a year after Woodstock,” he told journalist Will Harris 45 years later. “The Who and other people were playing their same sets. It was incredible and that was the beginning for me.”